Sean McVay On Initial 53-Man Roster, Decision To Trade Ernest Jones IV To Titans & Current ILB Group

he Sean uh what went into the decision to trade Ernest football decision what we felt like was best for the football team he's a great guy was amazing for us for a few years but we felt like this was best for our football team did you have a conversation with him before the trade oh of course yeah there was multiple conversations he couldn't have been more of a pro Sarah like I mentioned to you guys yesterday and um you know feel really good about the five inside backers that we do have on our team and do you have a plan for who's gonna wear the Green Dot uh we're working through that kind of stuff there's multiple candidates you sound like me right now with your raspy voice but um it is uh we've got a lot of guys that are candidates that are great you know communicators from the front to the back and so there's a couple of guys but we will uh get into the specifics of that over the next couple days thank you you're welcome Gary hey Sean can you hear me I can hear you Gary good for you man fantastic um what um in ter will will you guys at all be looking at possibly adding a veteran linebacker to that group no no we feel great about the linebacker group so you guys are all shocked you know but we feel really good about you know I I have a ton of respect for Ernest and I'm excited about what he'll do in Tennessee and what he's meant here um but this was a decision that we feel like is best for our football team with the guys that we have I think Troy reer and Rose boom are excellent um I think Jake hmel got versatility and I couldn't be more impressed with Omar Spates and his emergence as a young undrafted rookie free agent making the team Eli Neil's another guy and um and we've got a bunch of different things that we can do Personnel wise with some of the guys that we have on the back end and on our front and doesn't take anything away from Ernest but you know every decision that we make and I think you guys know me well enough now is what we think is best for our football team and this is in alignment with that um you know I mean just looking at it you and some of the teams you're going to play with very good run games uh having lost Aaron having lost now um Ernest um is there some concern that you're G to be vulnerable to those kinds of Power running games I think we got respect for the opponents we play them really confident in the group that we have Gary thanks very much you're welcome Maria hey Sean I was wondering if it changes what you want to do but it doesn't sound like it no it doesn't you know and these are things that these are ongoing things and you know we've we've got a responsibility and so um you know it's it's something that we really feel good about uh I feel really good about our defense on all three levels um we've got a lot of guys that are willing to compete it's a lot of new faces you don't replace guys like Aaron you know he's he's a special player we've talked about that over and over again and um you know I I think you know Ernest is a great person he was really impressive for us and what he did um you know but we're we're uh we're confident in that group and and we don't you know there's a lot of time and effort that goes into this with the evaluations and with the things and the amount of time that both Personnel ourselves as coaches and the work these players have put in um and I would you know I'm excited for you guys to see this thing come to life you know we're real surprised you know I'm look I'm excited for our group to go play over the past couple of weeks what you saw out of the players that you're talking about do you think you would have even thought about making a decision like this that you hadn't seen the growth I think this is uh I think this is something that's a reflection of a long you know going back to the off season into training camp you know previous experiences or some of the confidence in some new guys um and so that's that's really what it it it was something that's been a you know a an ongoing evaluation just like every player on our team um and this is no different than that thank you welcome Adam on without Ernest the defense has now lost Raheem and all three captains on the defensive side from last year um do you worry about that leadership churn given all the young guys that defense has to rely on no those are tremendous leaders that you had mentioned um but I think we've got a lot of guys that a year ago you guys didn't necessarily know who some of these young players were um and I think that every single year there's an opportunity to be able to kind of change I don't even want to say change the narrative because I don't really care about that I think it's more about guys continuing to assert themselves in positions and roles that are earned I'm excited you know two captains that just got voted on our defense Quinton Lake and Kobe Turner couldn't be more well-deserving and we've got other great leaders that got recognition with travius white I think cam curl has great leadership um you look at Troy reer and his ability to be able to communicate as well as Christian Rose boom um you know from the front you know by taking his second year Michael hoy's leadership um you get Darius Williams back so there's a lot of players that I'm very confident in and then some of those rookies that we added and um and again it's why you play football um these are great challenges you love those guys they've gotten opportunities to be able to move on or to be able to go retire and um and those guys were tremendous valuable leaders for our football team but it's about the 2024 Rams and I'm excited to go to work with this group when you say this is a football decision for the best of the team that might sound funny given the way that Ernest has contributed especially this past year I'm wondering if you can elaborate it all with you mean longterm short I said how do you take what I said what do you think that means said it was best for the football team so so that's what it means it's best for the football that could mean longterm that could mean shortterm that could mean longterm that could mean shortterm I'm just curious if you could elaborate based for short and long term okay Jordan you guys are funny oh you're funny Jordan this up hey Sean uh with the guys that you have at safety pretty deep group um pula's experience working with that group in the past and and actually scouting some of those guys uh who who have sort of been come in um do you see sort of some of his ID identity emerge as a DC with that group and um we've seen them work in a lot um in different ways that maybe we haven't seen in in previous years so do you expect to really lean on that group in your sub packages yeah I I think I the answer is yes Jordan and I think there's a lot of opportunities for some different things to come to life you know we've had a lot of success and there'll be some similarities in terms of what Chris has learned from the different coaches that we've had but I think the beauty of it whether you look at Wade you look at Brandon Staley you look at Raheem um they all have uh you know there's a personality that a play caller or coordinator has that you can kind of see through the defense and I think there's a lot of guys that are in alignment with the mental and physical makeup that we're looking for that match Chris's demeanor and disposition um and certainly that flexibility but really his exposure to all three levels Jordan I think gives him a really unique perspective um I think the play style of a lot of the different players that we have will give us certain flexibilities um and certainly that can be reflected with the versatile skill sets of those guys on the back end as you're talking about and then what went into the decision to keep three running backs those guys really separated themselves you know I I couldn't be more confident in Kiren I think Blake km has come in and done an outstanding job Jordan um and then Ronnie Rivers is a guy that's as improved as anybody on this team the trust and the confidence that we have in him and really all three of those guys I'm I'm super excited about and um that's usually how many we end up having on our 48 when we end up you know having this on that and those guys were were just a step above everyone else thanks you're welcome steu hey Sean I think I counted 10 rookies on the on defense uh obviously there's a mix of of Veteran experience and talent in there too but uh just in terms of meshing all that and and creating an identity for you know that unit you know what do you make of the blend of both of those things and how that can affect that identity yeah here's what I think I think there's a youthful exuberance I think there's a youthful you know um identity I think that was Illustrated last year with a lot of the youth that we ended up having um and then obviously Aaron moves on but I thought his imprint that he made on some of these young guys the Kobe Turners of the world the Byron Youngs you know you even look at the influence in a positive way that Michael hoitz had but when you talk about adding three guy really four guys to the front with Jared verse Braden fist Tyler Davis Brennan Jackson um that's a big deal when you talk about um you know some other guys that we've added with Cam kitchens that we end up drafting and then five undrafted free agents make the roster on defense that's a cool thing um you see Omar Spates really make his presence felt in the preseason and you felt that in practice you've seen El Lil have some really good bright spots um you've seen two safeties you know with Jaylen McCulla and then obviously we drafted Kim and then two corners in Josh Wallace and Charles Woods thought Josh was awesome you know we've been we've had some unfortunate injuries to that spot but you know Aubrey's leadership um their understanding of the techniques and the fundamentals and then I thought Josh got an opportunity to get a bunch of reps against an excellent offense in the Texans and showed really well um showed that he's played in a lot of big- time games and what a tremendous amount of credit to those guys and really our coaches and our Personnel to identify the kinds of guys that we really want and to have Five Guys truly earn it that's the thing everything is going to be earned on this team and that's been consistent that's what we're going to do and that's what's refle Ed in the decisions that we've made um even with a couple guys that have been tremendously impactful to our team and then just as a quick followup on Omar Spates you know when I asked you about him on on Saturday you mentioned his communication ability to defend the run of the pass concept recognition all those things um obviously in light of moving on from Ernest what if anything does that mean for the role that Omar could potentially have Beyond just contributing on special teams yeah I think he's developing I I think you know all those things that you just mentioned are great traits that you're looking for in linebackers St and I think he saw a great example and you mentioned Ernest it's a good example that he saw um but I think he's got really good examples in that room Greg money Williams does a great job with that group I think there's a Clarity in terms of what we're trying to get done um some of the different things that are being emphasized within the framework of that group whether we're in some of our you know 5-1 whether in we're some of our nickels some of our base defensive structures um you know some of our you know multiple DB sets and um I've been really pleased with that group and and he a guy that's had a lot of good examples both from players that are still here and then obviously with respect to Ernest but um he's he's a guy that I think has a real bright future for us all right we'll move quickly through these last three Wyatt Eric the you Gary uh Zack Thomas and Xavier Smith seem to be two guys that performed well with their opportunities what was the uh rationale for not having them on the 53 and what were kind of some of the other tough decisions that you had to make with that roster yeah yeah those were those were two tough decisions you mention it I thought you know starting with x thought he did a really good job um you know continuing to improve the thing I think he can be proud of is he's really improved um he's he's done a really good job I thought he showed well in terms of his decision making his ability to field punts um you know Karen Williams is going to be our punt returner and it's another opportunity for him to get touches and impact the game and you feel comfortable with that because of the confidence and Blake corm and Ronnie Rivers um you know being able to spell him if need be so that was what has made it tough for X he didn't do anything not to win the punt return job it's just you know Kiren is a guy that want to continue to have different ways that he can impact the game and that's one that's going to be reflected as far as uh you know just keeping six receivers I thought those six did a good job there was just a little bit of a separation those six guys you know um have really improved and X was right on that Fringe but it was a tough decision as far as Zach I like Zach Zach's a great dude um you know I thought he showed well early in Camp and then I think really more than anything it's not what he didn't do it's what Logan bruss and Bo limmer did do I thought they improved I thought they made last pushes um and from the interior offensive line spot you've got Steve you've got Jonah you've got Kevin doson um and then with those other guys that'll play behind him um Logan bruss and Bo limmer represent you know some guys that have really increased our depth obviously even no boom has the ability to flex inside um but but I've been uh it was really more of a credit to the to the other guys not necessarily what Zach didn't do and you certainly mentioned two guys that were tough decisions there Wyatt here coach as of today uh who are who are the lb ons um at the mic Troy reader and Christian Rose boom and then uh what did you see out of the the entire group that made moving on from Earnest palet yeah you know it's it's never easy and here's the thing I don't want it to be misunderstood um you wish him the best I think Tennessee is going to be a good spot for him I think when you look at dinard taken over there as a coordinator a lot of the things that you saw from those good players in Baltimore I think will be reflected for him and we wish him the best um but but what we saw in terms of the body of work and you know and it was tough too because there was a lot of opportunities that he missed that he wasn't available to get reps and really be able to be a part of some of the things that we emphasized and and then when you do you're a little bit behind the eightball and um and those other guys did really well and you know we work hard at trying to be able to to evaluate it those two guys did great the you know Jake Hummel's been kind of a guy that's always you know been right there he's been a special teams contributor um and then those two young rookies that I talked about they really showed well and they made an impact from that position um some of the different things that were asking of that spot um I think those guys did a really good job of grasping it and moving forward and in all fairness Earnest there wasn't maybe as many opportunities just because of some of the time missed but that was what related to the football decision ision and um you know that that's they're never easy but I think you guys know me well enough that there's a lot of work and intentionality that you love people but you do have to make sometimes tough decisions and would never make a decision that I didn't think was best for our football team and gave us the best chance to compete and then uh you know two lake has been named as a captain can you talk to me about his leadership de development from being drafted until now yeah it's just it's natural for him you know I I think the best leaders are the ones that just it's the way they move and they act and interact and respond to all things and you know I mentioned earlier I can remember when he came in he had a little bit of a knee issue that he wasn't able to to to practice early on in Camp but I came down in the training camp at UC Irvine when we were staying at the hotel and there was a light on in the DB room consistently night after night at about 9:30 10 o'clock of a guy that wanted to have a big picture ownership and understanding of what we were trying to get done he's a football junkie loves it he's a great competitor it's why he's a safety and then he's us so seamlessly because we needed him to transition to the nickel spot last year and his position flex and his ability to communicating he's got such a nice way about himself with people um and it was damn near unanimous you know the support that he got from his teammates and I think that's a real credit to the impact and the influence and the way that he inspires guys to want to be better I love this guy and I'm really excited that he's in a leadership role that's been earned and he doesn't have to do anything other than just be himself r with you Gary um Sean I I wanted to ask you about the captains but before I I just want to make sure I was clear what you said regarding Ernest you're saying the time he missed during offseason workouts in training camp didn't give you enough time to evaluate him in no no I'm saying it was hard because you were behind in terms of getting the amount of reps so it made it a little bit harder made it a little bit more challenging eval and then you're a little bit behind because repetition is the mother of learning and he missed out on a lot of times and so his his body of work coming into the over the last few years was not enough for you guys to have confidence that he could help you this year certainly take all that into consideration Gary but the the body of work every year is a new year um I think you've seen that we've had to learn that when you go from winning a Super Bowl to winning five games the following year and so it can be a good guideline um but you got to earn it every year and that's that's everybody okay and then finally in terms of the captains you mentioned Quinton and Kobe are are who who can you share with us who the other captains are are there any other new ones yes I can it'll be um you know the the consistent cast of cars um it'll be Matthew Stafford Cooper cup and Rob havenstein on offense so five total captains for our team and then that'll give us an opportunity to represent and you really recognize guys throughout the year um but those five um were were well regarded in terms of the votes from their peers um you know kind of far there was a there was kind of a gap between those five and everybody else and there was a lot of guys that got recognition that were certainly welld deserving of that thanks very much you're welcome